Board quotas harm cause for women, according to leading City figures

Imposing quotas for women in the boardroom could undermine respect for businesswomen, say leading City figures.

Lord Davies, the former business minister who is conducting a Government review into the lack of women in boardrooms, has said large companies may need to be forced to appoint a proportion of women directors.

Role model for women: Cynthia Carroll, who is chief executive at Anglo American

But Sir John Parker, chairman of National Grid and mining giant
Anglo American; Dr Franz Humer, chairman of drinks group Diageo and
pharmaceuticals firm Roche; and Tesco's legal and corporate affairs
boss, Lucy Neville-Rolfe, are against the idea of a quota system.

They said that while companies must 'aspire' to hiring more women
and should develop female talent, regulation could set back the cause
of women in business rather than promote it.

Parker, who is a member of Davies's steering committee and whose
chief executive at Anglo American is Cynthia Carroll, told Financial
Mail: 'There are a good number of females who would feel cheapened by
ending up in a boardroom because of quotas.'

He warned that there were too few senior women in Britain able to step up.

Neville-Rolfe said: 'I am in favour of promoting and recognising
women and increasing the number in boardrooms. That means consistent
and early career development and ensuring corporately that you have a
talent pipeline, so that women get the broad experience they need for
their futures.

'But companies do not need a fixed percentage of board positions
filled by women. They need the right board and the right mixture of
talented people.'